She's Stronger than Anyone I Know
by awhitefairytale
Summary: Henry is still blaming Regina after she rescued him from Neverland. Emma has had enough.


**Just a little one shot that came from a prompt on tumblr. **

**Prompt: Henry verbally hurts Regina (again) after being rescued from Neverland but this time Emma isn't going to let him get away with it. **

* * *

"I don't care what you did or what anyone says, you're still evil! You used magic and took that lost boy's heart! You used magic to knock everyone out! You even used magic to help kill Pan! You will never learn and you will always be evil!" Henry's face was red with anger and he was pacing about the room.

Minutes ago, Regina had been coming clean about what had happened while they were in Neverland, everything she'd had to do to save his life and get him away from the evil land and it's even more evil inhabitants. She figured a month back had been enough time and maybe even Henry would forgive her. She'd been sorely wrong.

"Henry, I didn't do any of that with evil in mind. I was only trying to save you!"

"But you still used it! You still used it to do bad things!"

Regina felt her heart breaking bit by bit. She thought after everything her relationship with Henry would get better. She thought that maybe if Henry had seen her and Emma getting along, he would've mellowed a bit. But nothing had changed for the better. Things seemed to keep getting worse.

They went quiet when Emma walked in to the room, a movie in hand. In trying to repair Henry and Regina's relationship, she had decided to try to spend time together as a family, the three of them.

_Well… somewhat of a family_.

She and Regina weren't together, not really.

_I wish. '_

Yes, Emma Swan had developed romantic feelings for the other mother of her son.

"What's going on?" She asked, her head tilted slightly to the side.

Both Regina and Henry answered at the same time, "Nothing."

Their eyes were looking in different directions, neither looking directly at Emma. But Emma could tell both were lying. She could see the hurt in Regina's posture, her eyes, hell practically her aura. She could see the anger written all over Henry's face. She knew then that Henry had set something yet again.

"Henry, what did you say to your mother?" She walked toward her son after placing the movie on the side table, her hands on her hips. The young boy crossed his arms and did his best to give her his puppy dog eyes.

"I didn't say anything."

"Cut the crap kid. Those eyes aren't going to work on me."

"Emma, it really was nothing." Regina was looking down at her lap, her hands fidgeting at the hem line of her skirt. Emma knew it was something because Regina sure wasn't a fidgeter.

"Regina, do you have any of that apple pie left?" Emma wanted to get the brunette out of the room, though Regina's apple pie was to die for.

"There are a couple pieces left."

"Would you mind getting some for us? I think it would be great to eat while we watch the movie."

Regina knew what Emma was doing. The blonde wasn't looking at her, she only had eyes for their son. But rather than argue, she stood and left the room, shaking her head as she left.

"What did you say to her?" Emma was beginning to get very angry. She hated seeing Regina upset.

"She told me all of the stuff she did in Neverland."

"And?"

"And she's evil Ma. She used magic and did evil things! She took that boy's heart!" Henry was beginning to get angry again but Emma was worse.

"Henry! God, do you not see how ironic this is?! You almost died to 'save magic'! You let Pan take your heart for the sake of saving Neverland and it's magic when really it was a load of crap! You chose to 'save magic' although we were telling you not to!"

"That's not the same thing."

"Henry, your mother, the one you insist is evil, is the one who saved you. Had she not used her 'evil magic'," she used her fingers to air quote the last, "You would be dead Henry. Dead. You would've been gone to this world. That… that would've killed your mother and I."

"You would have saved me."

"Henry! I couldn't do anything! I had no way to save you! She is the reason you are alive. She's the one who saved you."

"She still did evil things."

"She took that boy's heart because I told her to. She took his heart so that mine wouldn't turn black if I had done it. Your mother, Henry, is doing everything she can to do right by you. Everything she did on that island was for you."

The two stared at each other, similar eyes ablaze with anger.

"Kid," She bent down so she could look him directly in the eye, hand placed on his shoulder, "She is doing everything she can for you. She loves you more than anything in the world."

"Not more than magic."

Emma sighed. It seemed nothing was going to get through the kid's thick skull.

"She loves you a million times more and the really sad part is that you can't see that. You can't see how hard she's trying because you only want to look at the negative. You want there to be a villain in the story when there doesn't have to be."

Neither said a word. Emma squeezed her eyes shut before opening them and looking back into her son's eyes.

"I'm not going to make you apologize to her because if I did, we know you wouldn't mean it. But you should really look at all of the things she's done for you Henry. She's given you the life I could've never given you. She's made sure you're loved and cared for, that you get most everything you want. She absorbed the spell that could've killed Mary Margaret and I because you asked her to. She trekked all over that island to save your life and bring you back to the safety of this town. Your mother… she's beautiful and kind if you let her be. She's brave and courageous. And Henry, she's stronger than any person I know. You should really start looking at all the positives that outweigh the negatives by millions of pounds and stop treating her like crap."

Emma stood then, leaving Henry with some food for thought. She didn't know if anything she had said would infiltrate his brain but she could hope.

Little did she know Regina had been standing there the entire conversation. She had tears in her eyes; tears of sorrow, tears of pain, but even tears of joy and admiration.

* * *

That night after the movie had ended and Henry had gone to bed, Regina stood in her kitchen, a glass of red wine in her hand. She thought of the things Emma had said and wondered if the blonde truly thought those things. She twirled the stem of the glass between her fingers as she stared at the floor beneath her. She didn't notice the footsteps come in to the kitchen. It wasn't until Emma cleared her throat that the brunette looked up.

"He's out now, I guess that means I should probably head back to my parents' house."

"Thank you Emma." Brown eyes stared in to green, sincerity shining through.

"For what?" Emma was truly confused, having not felt the need for thanks earlier. What she'd done was something that was long over due. It didn't need a thank you in return.

"For everything. For letting him stay here… well more like making."

"Regina…"

The brunette stepped forward, leaving hardly any space between them.

"For talking to him. For saying… for saying all those nice things about me."

Emma's breath hitched. Regina was standing very close to her. Her brain became a bit muddled and her eyes shifted to Regina's lips.

_What is going on? Does… does Regina feel the same way?_

Her eyes moved back up to meet intense brown ones.

"You heard what I said to him?"

"Of course."

"Well Regina… they're all the truth. The things I sai…"

Regina's lips met Emma's before the blonde could finish her sentence.


End file.
